I've lived in MD going on 4 decades and am unaware of any specialty fried chicken. Please elaborate. I know there are a number of places on the Eastern Shore and in Delaware that do roadside bbq chicken (not sauced, just slow smoke cooked) that is otherworldly, but no special fried version.

We've had a Maryland Fried Chicken here in Vero Beach for as long as I lived here (since 1979). Their chicken is great and, if you like them, so are the fried livers. Very good slaw if you don't mind the finely chopped type. Our family refers to it as ABC slaw (already been chewed). Also, the corn fritters are worth the trip. Fresh made, a little powdered sugar, yum. They're busy at lunch and dinner and been in business a long time; must be doing something right. pb

A lot of years ago, before the Interstate was so big, and we traveled the "Veterans Memorial Highway" and the "Blue Star Highway", there was a rest stop on the highway (If memory serves, it might have ben located in the median) someplace east of Baltimore that was famous for its Maryland fried chicken. We stopped there once and had the chicken- it was very good and was a lot like the friccased chicken my mother used to make. It was fried chicken served wih a cream sauce.

Has anyone had fried chicken with Old Bay seasoning? I saw a recipe for that from a place in Baltimore and made it and it was pretty good.

Alot of the Bars and wing joints have Old Bay Wings (Bill Bateman's here in Reiserstown for one has them). Even one of our grocery stores have them on their take out lunch counter

But I haven't seen alot of places offer Southern style Fried Chicken with Old Bay on them. Though most places around here like Boardwalk Fries and Crab Joints have Old Bay shakers out with the Salt & Pepper containers. Even Subway has it as one of their choices for adding it to your Sandwich.

There is a MFC location located within walking distance from my office. While it once MAY have been part or a chain (and probably was), it seems to be a totally independent entity now. I tried it once or twice, but quality was sub-par. I really couldn't tell if correct "spices" were being used or not, but people in this area wouldn't know KFC from Popeye's if it wasn't for the box it came in.

Chicken Maryland or Maryland Chicken is a dish with various interpretations, depending on the country of origin. It is not necessarily known in the U.S. state of Maryland, and is not considered a native dish thereof.

Maryland Chicken is basically fried chicken served with a cream gravy. A recipe for "Chicken A la Maryland" exists in Escoffier's landmark cookbook "Ma Cuisine". Various recipes differ as to the proper method of breading the chicken (battered, or some combination of an egg-wash, flour, and/or breadcrumbs); the cream gravy also varies widely. There is no canonical, or "central" version (contrast Caesar salad or Beef Wellington, both fairly standardized).

Other reported versions include: a fried chicken leg with ham and hush puppies (a batter made with flour, egg, oil, and milk or water, to which corn is added, then deep-fried); batter-fried chicken with hush-puppies and batter-fried bananas and pineapple rings; and bread-crumbed and fried chicken wings & drumsticks with sautéed bananas. Apparently some South-east Asian variations exist, such as one with breaded chicken thighs, hush puppies, and gravy, served with deep-fried potato slices, baby carrots, fried tomato halves, and fried bananas.

The most common elements are: chicken pieces which have been breaded and fried or baked; corn fritters/hush-puppies, and cooked bananas.

In Australia, the term "Chicken Maryland" refers simply to a whole chicken thigh and leg. It does not imply any specific dish.

In the United Kingdom a Chicken Maryland is often included on menus in restaurants. Although often considered a kids' meal, adults will order it - it can be a large meal. It consists of battered chicken breast (or drumstick), chips, peas, banana fritter, pineapple fritter, bacon (or a slice of gammon) and fried battered onion rings. Indian and Chinese takeaways and restaurants will often include the meal in a 'European' or 'English' section of their menus.

The last first class lunch menu on the Titanic included a dish called "Chicken a la Maryland."

Chicken Maryland or Maryland Chicken is a dish with various interpretations, depending on the country of origin. It is not necessarily known in the U.S. state of Maryland, and is not considered a native dish thereof.

Maryland Chicken is basically fried chicken served with a cream gravy. A recipe for "Chicken A la Maryland" exists in Escoffier's landmark cookbook "Ma Cuisine". Various recipes differ as to the proper method of breading the chicken (battered, or some combination of an egg-wash, flour, and/or breadcrumbs); the cream gravy also varies widely. There is no canonical, or "central" version (contrast Caesar salad or Beef Wellington, both fairly standardized).

Other reported versions include: a fried chicken leg with ham and hush puppies (a batter made with flour, egg, oil, and milk or water, to which corn is added, then deep-fried); batter-fried chicken with hush-puppies and batter-fried bananas and pineapple rings; and bread-crumbed and fried chicken wings & drumsticks with sautéed bananas. Apparently some South-east Asian variations exist, such as one with breaded chicken thighs, hush puppies, and gravy, served with deep-fried potato slices, baby carrots, fried tomato halves, and fried bananas.

The most common elements are: chicken pieces which have been breaded and fried or baked; corn fritters/hush-puppies, and cooked bananas.

In Australia, the term "Chicken Maryland" refers simply to a whole chicken thigh and leg. It does not imply any specific dish.

In the United Kingdom a Chicken Maryland is often included on menus in restaurants. Although often considered a kids' meal, adults will order it - it can be a large meal. It consists of battered chicken breast (or drumstick), chips, peas, banana fritter, pineapple fritter, bacon (or a slice of gammon) and fried battered onion rings. Indian and Chinese takeaways and restaurants will often include the meal in a 'European' or 'English' section of their menus.

The last first class lunch menu on the Titanic included a dish called "Chicken a la Maryland."

Not trying to be a arse or anything, but if you quote something from another site (i.e., cut and paste), make sure you give credit to that site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_MarylandAvoids people with copywrites getting all fired up..And Welcome to Roadfood!

On the Maryland eastern shore there used to be a few restaurants called English's Fried Chicken. I dont' know if any of these still exist, but that place sold what I would call Maryland fried chicken. The skin was always crispy, and the seasoning was very basic.

I'm pretty sure I remember seeing a recipe for Maryland Fried Chicken in an old Time-Life Foods of the World cookbook that dealt with the foods of the Mid-Atlantic region. I specifically recall that the fried bird was served with a peppery cream gravy--to me, the gravy was the unique aspect of the dish. I've never eaten it but, hey, cream gravy is good on most anything.

I think there is some confusion here. There is Maryland Fried Chicken, which was a regional franchise chain that I thought was now defunct although there may be a few that have gone independent. I don't believe there were ever many of these in the State of Maryland. Maryland fired chicken is something different entirely.

I am a lifelong Marylander and my family arrived in Maryland in the colonial days. I use a fried chicken recipe that has been handed down in my family from before the Civil War (the oldest written version I have is from the 1890s, but that is not the original). I have seen several other old family recipes for fried chicken (also from Maryland). The recipes vary greatly in terms of seasoning, which is usually fairly simple, but share certain characteristics. Maryland fried chicken is pan-fried with the lid on in about a half-inch of oil (or "fat"). It is marinated in a buttermilk marinade (with or without seasoning). Maryland fried chicken does NOT use eggs. It is not "deep fried" (although that is a wonderful way to cook chicken) in several inches of boiling oil. Other than those "rules" people seem to be all over the map on seasoning, breading, etc.

I hesitate to beat on a dead horse, but, it's the peppery cream gravy that makes the traditional Maryland fried chicken what it is, or once was. Like a lot of dishes it has become corrupted over a lot of years and by a lot of cooks, and it seems that , now, just about any kind of fried chicken can be called "Maryland".

I'm sure all those others mentioned by our friends above are grest dishes, but just because the chicken was fried in Maryland does not make it the real McCoy of "Maryland" fried chicken.

On the other hand, I dont realy care what you choose to call any dish as long as it's tasty (except, I'm still mad as Hell about all the crap being poured by female bartenders calling itself "Martini").

I should have mentioned the cream gravy as well. Yes that is one of the key aspects of Maryland Fried Chicken. Nonetheless, you can't just pour gravy on some popeyes and call it Maryland Fried Chicken. It is buttermilk-marinated, pan (i.e. not deep) fried chicken using buttermilk (not eggs) to bind the breading, served with a creamy gravy. That's pretty much it. There used to be a show on Maryland public T.V. hosted by John Shields called Chesapeake Cooking or Chesapeake Kitchen or something like that. He has a cookbook that features Maryland Fried Chicken and explains its history. I'd be shocked if it is different than what I discussed above.

As someone who's lived in Maryland for give or take 20 years, raised as a child of Montgomery County, I can honestly say that this is the first time I've even heard the term "Maryland Fried Chicken." I know nothing about it, and at the risk of starting an argument, I've never considered the state famous for its fried chicken a la Kentucky or other southern states. I may have had "Maryland" fried chicken at a festival or something without knowing it... but if that's the case, it was no different than regular fried chicken (gravy or no gravy).

Urban S: My one and only experience with Maryland fried chicken was, if memory serves, on a cold January afternoon when we were traveling , probably, The Blue Star Highway from Baltimore to New York a day or two after the Lyndon Johnson inauguaration in 1965. We stopped at a big busy place along the highway not far from Baltimore and ate a sumptious lunch of Maryland fried chicken - a chicken fricasse with creamy peppery sauce.

We have searched in vain for another source of that particular dish every time we pass thru Maryland, so I'm not surprised that you, living in Maryland for years, have never seen the dish.

My mother, long deceased, used to make a very similar dish and she , I'm sure, never heard of Maryland fried chicken either.

BTW: Every time we drive past that huge noisesome gas station in the median on I-95 not far west of Wilmington I try to convince myself that that was the place where we enjoyed the chicken so many years ago. Was that place there in 1965?

Well, I'm also a life-long Marylander, and Maryland fried chicken has always been battered with egg. That is how my mom, her mom and her mom made it. Now, that being said, I've seen recipes with and without egg. I've also seen recipes with and with out the gravy.

Perhaps Maryland fried chicken is like many other regional recipes in that there are numerous ways to make the dish. After all some say a philly cheesesteak must have cheese whiz and other say provolone. Now, why anyone would want cheese whiz over provolone is a mystery to me, but I can still accept that the steak "wit" whiz is still a cheesesteak.

There is a place in Easton and Bethlehem, PA that has Maryland Fried CHicken. If you are from this area I am sure you kow about it. It is still not better then Flynn's in Pburg but if your in this region there is a good spot to try Marlyland fried chicken if you are interested.

Originally posted by eatingteamThere is a place in Easton and Bethlehem, PA that has Maryland Fried CHicken. If you are from this area I am sure you kow about it. It is still not better then Flynn's in Pburg but if your in this region there is a good spot to try Marlyland fried chicken if you are interested.

Tony

Where/what is "Flynn's in Pburg"? I did a quick search on Flynn's but came up with no food palce.

Flynn's is actually a hall where they cater events. In this area, in Phillipsburg, NJ, it is widley known by locals of the legendary status of their fried chicken. It lives up to its status of great fried chicken. Not sure if it is Maryland fried, but man is it good!

In the 1950s, Maryland Fried Chicken was a standard item on the menu of US Army mess halls, and that is where I was first introduced to it. When prepared correctly, this is one of the finest chicken dishes in existence. That is saying something, considering that I come from southwestern Louisiana where my mother and grandmother both knew how to fry up a mess of chicken that would make ole Colonel Sanders cry.

The distinguishing feature of MFC as made the Army way was that it was finished off in the oven. My folks never used that method to cook chicken. I don't know if the chicken was fried first or not (I'd imagine it was), but it was breaded and placed on large baking pans which were then placed in an oven whence it came out golden brown and emitting an unrefusable aroma. MFC was usually served with mashed irish potatoes and cream gravy, but these were side dishes, not part of the MFC recipe or in any way one of the dishes distinguishing characteristics as some online writers alledge.

Before finding the discussion here, I googled MFC and found a large variety of opinions as to what it is and how it's made. Thus far, the only recipe that seems to come closest to the Army way is the one used in Erma Rombauer's _The Joy of Cooking_, p. 468, which I bought about 1973. She calls the dish Maryland Chicken. Chicken pieces are breaded and browned in oil in a heavy skillet, then placed in a pan and baked covered until steamed through. The drippings are used to make the cream gravy.

Chesapeake Chicken SERVES 4 This recipe came to us from Chuckie's restaurant in Baltimore, Maryland, which locals considered to have the juiciest, most delectable fried chicken north of Kentucky. Their secret? Using Maryland seafood seasoning, of course.1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces 1 quart buttermilk 3 drops Tabasco 5 tbsp. Old Bay Seasoning 2 cups flour Freshly ground black pepper Frying oil 1. Arrange chicken in a shallow baking dish. Combine buttermilk, Tabasco, and 2 tbsp. Old Bay. Pour over chicken, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. 2. Sift together flour, remaining 3 tbsp. Old Bay, and pepper to taste into a large mixing bowl. Remove chicken from marinade (discard marinade) and dredge pieces in seasoned flour until well-coated. 3. Fill a large, deep skillet with oil to a depth of about 1". Heat oil over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Working in batches, add chicken and fry, turning often, until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes in all. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and continue to cook, turning several times, until tender, 15–20 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and drain on paper towels.

This is the way all my spouse's relatives in TN call their Sunday fried chicken. They start with a wonderful fried chicken done in a deep cast iron skillet, then make a peppery milk gravy from the fat and cracklings that's poured all over the chicken b4 serving. Sad to see such wonderful chicken drowned in the gravy.

Maryland Fried Chicken chain was started by a Greek guy in Orlando to capitalize on all the MD expats that moved down to Fl to work in the budding aerospace industry. IIRC the story correctly, he was taken aback by the lines of workers that would form at a local KFC and wait through their lunch hour to buy their chicken. He had the Broaster process at the time and independently developed his own marketing ploy by changing the name to Maryland and his herbs and spices topped KFC to 22 in his original recipe. They started an agressive expansion just b4 KFC started to build the company red and whites during the late 60's. Many of the company owned stores took over existing Golden Point hamburger joints and built air conditioned dining rooms. There was nothing Maryland about them as they were a totally Fl based company out to compete with KFC. They didn't last long once the red and whites went live. They developed a bad reputation for in-your-face portion control directly visible to the customers where they would even weigh out the french fries and wanted to sell you extra packets of condiments. Some local lawyer got a register tape of a sale that I think violated state laws about condiments and made a big deal of it. I believe they were active around here from about '68-'70. I figured they were history, but apparently the chain is still viable.